Monosodium Glutamate Thread

[Bribie G]

I love MSG. Much vilified, it's really just the sodium salt of Glutamic Acid, one of the range of Amino Acids in your body and the bodies of tomatoes, Parmesan Cheese, mushrooms etc etc.

A lovely flavour enhancer but, of course used in excess it gives a one dimensional Umami character to dishes. Where appropriate I add just a "finger tip" pinch.

The jar in the photo has been doing me proud since 2008 - it was originally 500g from an Asian supermarket in Brisbane.

The reason I drew the skull and crossbones on it was because my stepdaughter once mistook it for sugar, put two teaspoons in coffee, and it took me half a day to wipe the spit marks off the walls.

Anyway, **** you Gravox Brown Onion Gravy, just a pinch lifted my Kyogle Butchery thick snags and gravy and mash and a token green to glorious levels B)

 

[Eagleburger]

Got a jar in the cupboard here too. I remember sprinkling it on raw sausage sandwiches as a kid. Proper sausages that is.

 

[roastinrich]

MSG gives me nightmares and I wake up in the middle of the night with a dry mouth. My Brother-in-law uses Vegeta which is loaded with MSG on his pork roast. I never sleep well after his pork roast.

 

[S.E]

Got a jar in the cupboard here too. I remember sprinkling it on raw sausage sandwiches as a kid. Proper sausages that is.

You eat raw sausages? Are we talking pork, beef or what?

 

[Crakkers]

I love the stuff too. I use it in all sorts of things - scrambled eggs/omelettes, fish, soups, casseroles, etc.
I buy it in 1kg bags which last me 2 - 3 years.
It's probably the most studied food additive in the world, with not a single study linking it to the headaches and other irritations that people claim to get from it.
That Gravox tin probably claims that it has no added MSG, but I'll bet it contains "yeast extract" which is chemically identical to MSG when mixed with water.
"Hydrolysed vegetable protein" is another one. Food labelling standards only require it to be called MSG ( or E621) if it is refined to 99% or higher.
So that's how the food industry gets around all the unjustified hysteria surrounding it, and anyone claiming to be allergic to MSG is full of shit.

 

[Dave70]

Just be sure keep one of these on standby in case you need to get stabby.
Leave it on the table to reassure your guests you care.

 

[Nick the Knife]

I agree completely, when used PROPERLY MSG is an invaluable addition to most folks kitchen pantry. Alas like much of the western world we've adopted a bit of a 'sheep herd' mentality with people swearing off it like it's asbestos or nuclear waste (though the same folks likely end up unwittingly consuming plenty of it via the plethora of products it's already in & widespread restaurant use).

I saw an excellent BBC docu on MSG and in short the findings of it were:
1. A small % of the population has a negative reaction to it - I think it was estimated at around 3-5% and generally this wasn't a life threatening one just an 'unpleasant' one.
2. It absolutely made the vast majority of savoury foods taste better when used in the correct amounts (they blind tested this and almost 100% agreement)
3. Using the right amount was critical as overuse lead to that prickly mouth feel and folks waking up needing water etc

No Asian household's kitchen would be without it and I use it in a load of dishes in very small amounts. Cheap as chips at any Asian grocery store & definitely a great product IF used correctly.

 

[Bribie G]

Just be sure keep one of these on standby in case you need to get stabby.
Leave it on the table to reassure your guests you care.

Is that the one that only works if it's injected directly into the heart muscle, preferably by Nicolas Cage?

MSG reminds me a lot of gluten. The herd thinks that gluten is some sort of poison, because it sounds like "glue" or "glutinous" like the Blob or something.

Being, quite simply, the protein found it wheat it may not be the absolute best for human consumption as opposed to eggs or nice piggy meat but if gluten magically disappeared tomorrow, probably a billion people around the planet would be dead in a month.

 

[sponge]

Is that the one that only works if it's injected directly into the heart muscle, preferably by Nicolas Cage?

Face/Off can alter one's memory sometimes

 

[user 35653]

Would anyone consider putting into a brew?

 

[Dave70]

Is that the one that only works if it's injected directly into the heart muscle, preferably by Nicolas Cage?

I thought it was John Travolta..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKQ-BpO4Gzo

 

[Danscraftbeer]

I'd rather the natural and safer method of flavour enhancing. Chemical powdered concentrations are unsafe. and I don't even have kids.

 

[Robbo2234]

Wasn't there a thread about fermenting apple juice and msg?

 

[MHB]

I'd rather the natural and safer method of flavour enhancing. Chemical powdered concentrations are unsafe. and I don't even have kids.

I'm quite happy to use chemically pure Calcium Chloride or Sulphate in my brewing, would even rather brew in chemically pure water, given the choice between that and something full of very natural muck.

I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with "chemicals" Household Sugar and Salt are so close to chemically pure it doesn't matter, yet we use them as both flavours and flavour enhancers on a daily basis. Too much MSG is probably not a good choice, same applies to Sugar and Salt.
Remember that most of the MSG made is produced by Bacteria acting on Sugar so there is a pretty good argument that it isn't a "Synthesised" chemical anyway.
Personally I think used with restraint it can be a benefit well if not then at a minimum benign and enjoyable
Mark

 

[Bribie G]

Elderly lady friend is a bit of a late hippie and constantly moans about the evil modern world, and in particular the widespread use of "chemicals" .. she refuses to use the likes of Spray n Wipe, laundry detergents, or Windex.

Instead she has a barrage of traditional cleaning concoctions that she has inherited from other old ladies over the decades and she is proud of the fact that there are no "chemicals" in her home.

Clothes are washed in Nature's Dolphin laundry liquid or some such pale green stuff that probably comes out of the same vat as Surf.

Cleaning of most surfaces is done with a mixture of cloudy ammonia (NH5O)and vinegar (CH3CO2H)
Cleaning of fridges and many other items involves liberal application of Sodium Bicarbonate. I recently gave her some Sodium Percarbonate to soak her tea towels and when I explained that it's just plain old washing soda with some extra oxygen, she was delighted that it's not a "chemical" so good to go.

I really don't have the heart to tell her, but this seems to be a widespread mindset, possibly related to decades of pretty abysmal teaching of science in Australian schools.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Cleaning of most surfaces is done with a mixture of cloudy ammonia (NH5O)and vinegar (CH3CO2H)

Add some blue dye...BAM...Windex

 

[Bribie G]

Blue rinse?

 

[goatchop41]

MSG gives me nightmares and I wake up in the middle of the night with a dry mouth. My Brother-in-law uses Vegeta which is loaded with MSG on his pork roast. I never sleep well after his pork roast.

Do you get this when you eat things with a lot of parmesan, vegemite/marmite, soy sauce, mushrooms, peas, broccoli or tomato (especially a puree/passata)? If not, then it's not the MSG. The glutamate is what a very small minority of people have an issue with, and all of these foods are fairly well packed with glutamate.

I'd rather the natural and safer method of flavour enhancing. Chemical powdered concentrations are unsafe. and I don't even have kids.

Care to elaborate on how MSG is neither 'natural' or 'safe'? You make a strong statement that it's unsafe, with absolutely nothing to back it up.....

 

[goatchop41]

Good on you Bribie! It's good to see that there's plenty of people here who aren't suckered into the 1980s frame of mind that MSG is some sort of demon-additive designed by China to cripple the Western world via their love for Australian-American-Chinese food (god bless lemon chicken!).
Quite a few dishes that I make get the MSG powder treatment, but I also utilise fish sauce (which is also high in glutamate) in a lot of things - adding a teaspoon or so of it (or vegemite) to a bolognese/ragu will take it to the next level!

 

[SBOB]

Instead she has a barrage of traditional cleaning concoctions that she has inherited from other old ladies over the decades and she is proud of the fact that there are no "chemicals" in her home.

Clothes are washed in Nature's Dolphin laundry liquid or some such pale green stuff that probably comes out of the same vat as Surf.

Cleaning of most surfaces is done with a mixture of cloudy ammonia (NH5O)and vinegar (CH3CO2H)
Cleaning of fridges and many other items involves liberal application of Sodium Bicarbonate. I recently gave her some Sodium Percarbonate to soak her tea towels and when I explained that it's just plain old washing soda with some extra oxygen, she was delighted that it's not a "chemical" so good to go.

she probably also uses that deadly dihydrogen monoxide without knowing...